Even though Black History Month just passed, let's pause for a moment
and reflect on the notable role lawyers have played in championing - and,
in some cases - blocking the progress of African-Americans.

Lawyers have been involved in many memorable cases affecting the black
community. Some have been wonderfully inspiring and others tragically depressing.
Among the most notable:

Former president John Quincy Adams buoyed the abolitionist movement
in 1841 when he persuaded the Supreme Court that the Africans who seized
the slave ship Amistad should be returned to the homeland as free men.

The lawyers who argued that Dred Scott should not be returned to slavery
lost their case in 1857, but their powerful arguments accelerated the march
to freedom that culminated with the Civil War and Lincoln's Emancipation
Proclamation in 1863.

In 1897, the Supreme Court gave its tacit approval to segregation by
promulgating its "separate but equal" theory, but Justice John
Marshall Harlan's eloquent dissent inspired a generation of civil rights
lawyers to continue pushing for racial justice.

And lawyers led by the NAACP's Thurgood Marshall helped sound the death
knell for school segregation by winning Brown v. Topeka Board of Education
before the Supreme Court in 1954. That victory triggered scores of other
civil rights lawsuits that have opened countless doors of opportunities
across a wide spectrum of society in the ensuing years.

Yet, sadly, the fight between good and bad lawyers continues today.

All too often, this struggle goes unpublicized in the black community
because it has moved outside of the civil rights venue and into the marketplace.

For instance, the vast majority of Americans are hurt by lawsuit abuse
where greedy personal injury lawyers annually make billions of dollars by
pursuing frivolous lawsuits that drive up consumer prices.

Yet even here, minorities tend to be whacked harder by price increases
because, on average, their income is less than that earned by their white
counterparts.

Cynically, personal injury lawyers heavily recruit class-action plaintiffs
in minority areas with promises of a big-bucks payoff. When the awards come
in, however, the lawyers walk away with millions of dollars, while minority
plaintiffs' average less than $150 for their cameo roles in successful class-action
lawsuits.

Class-action lawsuits undoubtedly are a serious scam perpetrated on African-American
communities. In their wake, insurance premiums and health care costs skyrocket,
the price of basic consumer goods soars and well-paying jobs depart for
cheap-labor lands. The impact of the latter is especially negative for black
Americans, who tend to be lower on the seniority ladder and more likely
to be laid off. Increasingly, class-action lawsuits seem to be less about
protecting innocent victims and more about padding personal injury lawyers'
Swiss bank accounts. Take the example of class action lawsuits against the
managed care industry. Whatever gripes we have with our HMOs, one thing
is clear - lawsuits that drive up patient premiums won't fix anything. More
likely, they'll force HMOs out of business and deprive poor neighborhoods
- already suffering doctor shortages - of any medical care.

This is an issue of critical importance to the African-American community.
Right now, roughly 40% of America's African-American population of more
than 36 million people - some 14 million - are without health insurance,
according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics. That's a tragic situation, but
more lawsuits are only going to increase the ranks of the uninsured.

According to the Journal of Health Economics, every 10% increase in the
cost of insurance creates a three to four percent decrease in the number
of people who can afford to purchase coverage. In addition to class actions
lawsuits, frivolous litigation in the housing market hits minorities hard
by limiting the number of affordable homes.

In California, for instance, frivolous environmental and construction
defect lawsuits make one of the most expensive housing markets in the world
even harder for minorities to call home. Construction defect lawsuits have
had a devastating effect on the state's condominium construction, which
has screeched to a near halt in the past few years. Now, only 2,400 new
units are built per year, dropping down from 25,000 in the mid-1990s. Condos
and townhouses are the only affordable options for many people in California,
since the median house price is now almost $250,000. The California Supreme
Court stepped in to help fix the state's housing crisis last year by prohibiting
construction defect lawsuits for single-family homes and condominiums if
there is no actual building damage. But each time the state legislature
tries to enact meaningful reform to make homes more affordable, the powerful
personal injury lawyer lobby steps in and prevents any change.

As we reflect on all the factors that limit the economic opportunities
for black Americans, let us not forget the effects of frivolous lawsuits
filed by personal injury lawyers. These lawsuits provide little or no benefit
to consumers, but raise prices and limit economic opportunities just the
same.

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(Council Nedd is a member of Project 21's National Advisory Board and
the president of the Covering Your Assets Coalition. He can be reached
at [email protected].)

Note: New Visions Commentaries reflect the views of their
author, and not necessarily those of Project 21.